Electric Companies Will Hate You for Doing This, but They Can't Stop You
Even before the recent rise in inflation and gas prices, electricity providers across the country had been steadily – and often not subtly – raising their rates to keep your house turned on. Now with everything under the sun going up in price, the cost of each tier of your power useage will inevitably increase as well.
The cost of electricity varies by state, with average bills ranging from $78.13 in Utah to $191.01 in Hawaii. So, even if you're on the low end of the scale and your bill didn't nearly double from last year, it's safe to say that you're looking for ways to save.
Here are simple tricks you can employ at home to reduce your average electric bill starting today.
1. Keep the Summer Sun Out
The summer sun can heat up any room real fast. By keeping out the sun, you’ll keep your house at least 10 degrees cooler.
I love the sun, but our upstairs heats up quickly. Midday, I go through the house and close all of our shades before that late afternoon sun comes shining through our windows.
Not only does this make a tremendous difference in the temperature in our house, but it also keeps our AC at bay.
If you don’t have blinds or curtains for your windows, purchase some. It only costs $10 for a pair of cheap blackout shades. The investment is so worth it!
2. Turn Off the Air Conditioner
Depending on where you live, using your air conditioner isn’t always necessary.
I grew up in the midwest, and we didn’t have AC. Yes, some days were so stinking hot, but we survived.
If you can’t survive the whole summer without turning your AC on, that’s understandable. You can choose comfort over a big bill, but it’s not going to save you money.
TIP: If you can’t survive without your AC, wait until “summer” actually arrives before you turn it on.
Today it was 90 degrees out here in CA. However, it’s still spring, and I know it will get down to at least 60 degrees tonight.
Instead of turning on my air only to turn it off tonight, I just didn’t turn it on at all. We try and hold off, turning it on as long as we can. This way we use less electricity!
Another great alternative to turning on your AC is buying a few fans for your home for those in-between months. Yes, it’s money you’ll have to spend upfront but fans last for years. In the long run, a fan can save you hundreds to thousands by keeping that AC switched off.
3. Dry Your Laundry Outdoors
The first sign of a summer breeze, and I’m heading outdoors to dry my laundry. This is one of my favorite ways to cut my electric bill because it’s so easy.
Like I mentioned before, dryers are energy hogs! There is no way around this other than not to use them.
Depending on where you live, you can dry clothes outdoors year around.
During the off-season, I dry my clothes indoors on a drying rack! It only takes me a few extra minutes to hang up my clothes vs. throwing them in the dryer. Clothes also last longer when they aren’t dried in a dryer.
If you want to energy costs put up a clothesline in your backyard! They even have really nice retractable clotheslines, so when you aren’t using it or tired of looking at it. It only takes seconds to take down.
4. Use Less Electricity In Your Home
I know this is an obvious one, but keeping your lights on at all hours of the day can make your power bill skyrocket.
In the summer, it gets light early and stays light out pretty late. Try going without turning on your lights until it’s actually dark out every night.
We don’t turn our lights on until closer to 9 at night in the summer, and it saves us a lot of money.
5. Limit Your Oven Use
Using your oven doesn’t only use up a lot of energy; it also heats up your home quickly.
I try and stay away from using our oven as much as I can in the summer. Our house is small, so it doesn’t take much to heat up our entire home.
In the summer your oven and AC will team up and work against you. The change in your home’s temperature by just a degree or two can kick on your AC, hence an increased power bill.
Instead of using your oven, try making meals that don’t involve using your oven.
In the summer, we cook a lot of our meals on our grill. Sometimes we even light a fire in our fire pit and do dinner and dessert in the backyard.
6. Buy Energy-Efficient Appliances
Trading out your old appliances for new energy-efficient appliances is a must! If your electric bill is high, this change will make a huge impact on future power bills, and for the better.
Yes, you will need to come up with the money for these new appliances, but it’s worth it.
Not only that, but new kitchen appliances increase the value of your home. If you are looking to sell your home in a few years, this upgrade could benefit you.
7. Plug Your Electronics Into A Powerstrip
We all know that unplugging our electronics will save us money, so let’s make it convenient.
Put all of your electronics that you use throughout the day onto one or two power strips. When you aren’t using them, hit the off switch.
I have our tv, PlayStation, and all of those electronics hooked up on one power cord. Then I have my computer, printer, and phone chargers hooked up to another power strip.
This way, when we aren’t using one or the other, I can turn everything off with the flip of a switch.
Even though your appliances are switched off, they are still using power!
8. Change Your Lights To LED’s
LED lights not only last up to six times longer than a standard bulb; they are also 80% more efficient than a standard bulb.
We have LED lights throughout our home, even in our camper, and I LOVE THEM!
If you are looking for ways to reduce your electric bill, switching out your lights for LEDs is a great start.
9. Turn Off Your Porch Lights
Do you keep your porch lights on at night? We used to, so people “knew we were home,” but really, this simple act was causing us a lot of money month after month.
Think about it, if you turn your outside lights on when it gets dark, that’s almost 12+ hours a day that your lights are on.
Especially in the winter, when it gets dark early!
Give it a try. Only turn your outdoor lights on when you are outside.
I’m positive that you will see a noticeable difference in your electric bill the first month, we did!
If you do choose to keep your porch light on, switch it out for an energy-efficient one. Or even try going solar to reduce electricity use.
10. Install Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are a great way to circulate air throughout your home. If I could, I would have one in every room in my house.
You can use a ceiling fan in place of your air conditioner or along with your air conditioner, so it doesn’t have to work as hard.
If you are ready to take the plunge, from a box fan to a ceiling fan, this summer is the best time to do so!
11. Wash Your Dishes By Hand
I almost couldn’t imagine living in a house without a dishwasher. I heavily rely on ours to get me through the day. However, washing dishes by hand will save you money.
Suppose you want to test out this theory. Wash your dishes by hand for a month and see how much it saves you on your next power bill.
12. Get a Home Energy Audit Done On Your Home
Do you lose a lot of heat in your home in the winter? We do! If you have an older home, you probably have the same problem.
Have a home assessor come out and take a look at your home to see where you are losing the most energy. I know most energy companies do this free of charge!
Once they identify where you are losing the most heat, fix the problem.
For example, if you have older windows in the winter, you can lose a lot of heat around those windows. You would then go about finding a way to have them replaced in the next year or so.
13. Add Weather Stripping Around Doors
Go check your doors for cold drafts, if you feel a draft, add a piece of weather stripping.
This is such an easy fix for a problem that is costing you money! At one point, we were losing a lot of heat through both our front and back doors.
We added some weather stripping tape around both doors, and it fixed the problem.
Such a simple fix!
Also, check to see if you are losing heat from the bottom of your doors. If you are by a door draft stopper. It’s amazing how well these things work. In the midwest it gets down to -40 degrees in the winter, door stoppers are a must.
14. Insulate Windows With Plastic
In the winter, it’s easy to lose heat through your windows and doors. These inexpensive sticky plastic insulator kits can be used to cover both windows and doors.
We’ve used these on both our sliding doors and our windows every winter. We have some pretty nasty cold weather that blows through in Minnesota, and this seems to help A LOT!
It’s a highly affordable way to reduce your electric bill, and they are super easy to install.
15. More Blankets Please
Instead of turning your heat up this winter, try wearing multiple layers and adding more blankets into your everyday life routine.
Then you’ll be able to set your furnace to a lower temperature! When you set your furnace to a lower temperature, you’ll prevent it from continually running.
We have special sheets, blankets, and comforters that only come out in the winter in our house.
Nothing is worse than jumping into a cold bed on a cold winter night. We love using our fleece sheets in the winter. We also add an extra blanket between our sheet and comforter. Lastly, we add an oversized down comforter to our bed.
As I mentioned, it can get down to -40 degrees in Minnesota, so the more layers, the merrier. Depending on where you live, any of the above solutions will have you turning down your heat and saving money.
16. Use Dryer Balls
We’ve used dryer balls for years! I first began using them because I wanted to eliminate waste and get rid of our toxic dryer sheets.
What I discovered when using dryer balls amazed me. Our clothes were actually drying faster than before!
Yes, dryer balls prevent clothes from clumping together, which accelerates the drying process.
So grab yourself a set for cheap online! They last 1000+ loads.
17. Install An Energy Smart Thermostat
Have you tried installing an energy-smart thermostat, such as the Nest?
The Nest is a learning Thermostat. It learns what temperatures you like and then builds a schedule around your schedule!
A case study by Nest showed that the Nest Thermostat saved 10%-12% of heating usage and 15% of cooling usage.
This simple change in the thermostat will more than pay for itself in a year or two.
18. Only Heat The Rooms You Use
Do you have rooms in your house that you don’t use, such as the basement or a spare room? If so, don’t bother heating it.
No, you can’t turn off the heat to a particular room, but you can do a few things to keep it from using your precious heat.
Start off by closing vents to rooms you don’t use. We don’t use our basement in the winter.. or like ever. In the winter, we close the vents in the basement so that most of the heat blows upstairs.
19. Landscape Your Yard
Did you know having landscaping around your home can keep it insulated?
We have one huge oak tree at every corner of our house. YES, in the fall, it is a lot of work to rake all the leaves, but our home is completely shaded during the summer.
This means that we have our own cooling system, that’s free! And we love it.
Add some landscaping to your yard. Yes, it will take some time for your shrubs and trees to grow, but nothing good ever comes quickly.
Your future self will thank you!
20. Insulate Your Home
If you’ve done all of the above and your home is still chilly in the winter months, you might need to check out your home’s insulation.
Over time insulation can fall down in your walls. If your home is older or had any additions added on, your home may not be properly insulated.
Last winter, we noticed that the snow was melting on our roof (if your home is insulated, this shouldn’t happen). My husband crawled up into our crawl space, and low and behold. We didn’t have insulation in our attic, just sawdust, and newspaper.
Tip: For future homeowners, insulation is something you should check for before you buy a house.
SO….
What do you say? Are you ready to lower your power bill and start putting money back in your pocket? Give these 20 tips a try and start kissing your electric bill goodbye!
21. Get a Smart Meter
If you want to take your energy savings to the next level, then you should consider getting a smart meter. A smart meter is a device that measures and records your electricity use in real-time. This means that you can track your power consumption daily or even hourly and adjust your habits accordingly. Smart meters can also help you save money by automatically turning off electronics when they’re not in use. If you’re interested in learning more about smart meters, then be sure to contact your local power company.
22. Lower Water Heater Temperature
Most water heaters are set at 140 degrees by the manufacturer.
Not only does this temperature cause unnecessary electric bill increases, but it puts your safety at risk. Water heated to 140 degrees is more likely to cause scalding on parts of your body. Consider lowering the temperature on your water heater to 120 degrees.
It’s important to note that temperatures under 140 degrees have the potential to cause bacterial growth in your water heater.
If you, or someone you live with, are elderly, have a respiratory disease, or have a compromised immune system, lowering your water heater temperature may not be best.
23. Shorten Shower Times
How many times have you turned on the shower and walked away to grab some things while the water warmed up?
Long showers are glorious after a long, hard day, but a shorter shower may do wonders for your electric bill.
Why Will Taking Shorter Showers Lower My Electric Bill? An average shower uses about 10 gallons of water.
Here are a few ways you can cut back the amount of energy you’re using in the shower:
Turn down the water temperature when washing your hair or shaving.
Consider turning off the water completely when lathering up with your shampoo or body wash.
If you’re taking a bath, fill the tub half as full as you normally would.
These simple changes stop your water heater from working as hard to heat large amounts of water, lowering your electric bill.
24. Install a dimmer
Dimming your lights reduces wattage and output, which helps save energy, according to the US Department of Energy.
Some dimmer switches can be controlled by an app, like the Lutron Caseta In-Wall Wireless Smart Lighting Kit, giving you even more ways to adjust your lights and save electricity from wherever you are.
25. Unplug
One thing I didn’t know is that when your phone charger is plugged in it is still using power, even if your phone is not plugged in. How crazy is that? These power sucks can increase your power bill significantly.
I was under the impression that this would only save a few dollars per month maximum. Just to try it out – we did a little experiment. Over the course of a month, we would unplug everything that we were not using. Well, almost everything. Any large appliances we would leave, taking too much effort. We would unplug our small appliances like our toaster, water boiler, electric toothbrush, and all chargers (phone, laptop, e-reader).
Unplugging everything was super easy because everything is plugged into a surge protector. To turn them off, you just turn the surge protector off. Just press one button.
I swear, this almost cut our electric bill in half. About 40% savings when you’re just paying attention to this and not leaving everything plugged in!
If you don’t believe me, I encourage you to do this experiment on your own and see how much money you could save. It can vary by device and electric provider, but I’m sure you’ll save a significant amount of money on your utility bill every month.
26. Add Rugs to Your Rooms
A modern living room with rust / burnt orange wall paint decor and blue abstract pattern rug decor
Investing in a couple of the best rugs is a great way to save on energy bills in the long term if you have hard flooring, be it laminate, reclaimed, or engineered wood flooring.
These are always colder than carpeted floors, whereas textiles are great at trapping and retaining heat. Larger rugs will be more effective as they cover more of the floor surface.
'Rugs can accompany all hard flooring and even carpets alike for an extra layer or insulation, helping to reduce bills during the colder months. Carpet fibers are natural insulators and are low heat conduction. The fibers are also good at trapping air and increasing insulation so are ideal for all over the home. A rug will also reduce noise, warm up your space and add comfort to any space.
27. Wash Your Clothes In Full Loads In Cold Water
The washing machines nowadays have an option to cold wash your clothes. Meaning that at a temperate of 20 Celcius (68 Fahrenheit), you can wash your clothes. Your clothes will come out equally clean, the only difference is you will instantly save money!
Instead of doing multiple small loads, I would recommend you wait until you have enough clothes to do a full load of laundry. If you’re washing in smaller loads, they tend to cost the same amount of money per washing cycle as a full load – making it more expensive since you wash more often. Wait until you have a full load of/ dirty clothes for the washing machine, and you will be right on track to cut your electricity bill in half.
28. Stop Using Your Dryer
When you’re right on track to save money on your washing, continue with saving money with the dryer. Since I’ve been living in the student- and shared housing, I’ve never had a dryer. Ever. I don’t think it’s necessary at all. I’m fine just line drying my clothes.
I have to agree line drying your clothes isn’t as easy and convenient as just shoving them straight into the drying, but it can save you a great amount of money. When you already have a dryer, give line drying a try! It’s gentler on your clothes, meaning that you will save money not having to replace them. On top of that, you will save a great deal of money on your electric bill.
This portable line dryer can fold flat, so you can just slide it next to your washing machine when it’s not in use.
29. Use Draft Blockers
When I was in my teenage years my parents installed draft blockers in my room, because I would want to sleep until noon without being woken up by any light. Apparently, they are not for sun-blocking purposes, who knew? Today, I’m using them in my own house as what they’re actually intended to be: draft blockers.
They make sure that the cold air is not coming into my heated room. This will save you a lot of money if it is winter and it’s snowing, you don’t want your warm air to heat up the streets.
30. Submit Regular Meter Readings to Your Supplier
This first and essential step cannot be stressed enough. If you're still getting quarterly estimated bills, you could be overpaying by as much as hundreds a year. Conversely, if you are constantly underpaying for your actual energy usage, you will end up being hit by a huge unexpected bill when you move out of your current home.
So, locate your electric and gas meter and submit regular meter readings, usually every month. It's especially important to take an accurate meter reading right around the time energy prices change so that you don't end up paying more at the higher rate.
Alternatively, by getting a self-reading gas and electricity meter (aka a smart meter), you can monitor your energy usage from the warmth of your kitchen, or wherever you place the device. This makes a lovely change from shining a torch in the shoe cupboard or reaching into an outside meter cupboard where a spider (or two) has set up home.
31. Electricity Comparison Sites
Another great way to save money on your power bill is to use an electricity comparison site. These sites make it easy for you to find out which company offers the best rates in your area, so you can switch providers and start paying less.
In Australia, electricity prices have been rising for years now, and many people are struggling to keep up with the increased cost of living. You can combat these rising prices by using the Electricity Monster comparison site to find the best rates in your area. This will allow you to switch providers and save money on your monthly power bill. They provide services to families and businesses looking to cut their electricity and gas bills.
32. Use a Tankless Hot Water Heater
While on the topic of water heating, you can cut your electric bill significantly by switching to a tankless hot water heater. In fact, a tankless hot water heater can save you $100 per year, according to ENERGY STARr.
If your hot water heater is in its golden years, think about replacing it with a tankless one to reduce electricity costs.
33. Insulate Your Hot Water Heater
Next time you’re planning water heater maintenance, think about adding some insulation too. Insulating your water heater can improve efficiency and decrease electricity costs (up to $30 a year). You can even insulate the first six feet or so of water heater piping to go the extra mile in cutting household energy consumption.
34. Upgrade Your Boiler
A boiler that is 15 or more years old is likely to be around 70 percent efficient, meaning that for every pound spent on fuel, 30p is wasted. ‘Older boilers are also likely to have a standing pilot light, which could cost in the region of £50 to 60 per year just to keep going,’ explains Martyn Bridges, from Worcester Bosch.
‘Updating your heating system to an A-rated condensing boiler could make your system more than 90 percent efficient. Add weather – and load-compensating control and you could see a further four percent of savings.’
It’s also important to install and use the correct controls for your heating system as this will ensure it doesn’t have to work any harder than it needs to, which will make it as efficient as possible.
35. Fill the Fridge
You may have heard about making sure your fridge and freezer are full while leaving space in front for airflow. If you don’t have enough food to fill your fridge, go ahead and fill some plastic containers with water.
This will fill the space and not cost you anything. You can do this in the freezer, too, which benefits the most from being packed full.
36. Check Your Fridge Gaskets
You may not realize that the gaskets on your fridge are worn out.
This can leak out the cold air and make your fridge work harder to stay cool. This wastes a ton of energy! How can you check?
A simple check is all it takes. Put a dollar bill in the door and close it. If you can easily pull it out, then the gaskets are not sealing well and should be replaced.
37. Use Color to Your Advantage
One interesting decorating tip is to use pale paint colors on your ceilings, floors, and walls. The softer colors will reflect more light, so you can use light bulbs with lower watts. Lower wattage equals electricity savings for you.
We all want to save energy, and in the process reduce the costs of our electricity bills. There are a lot of ways to reduce your costs and many are well known.
There are some more unusual and shocking ways you can actually lower your electric bill and here are some of them.
38. Buy Kill a Watt
The last thing we did was buy a Kill A Watt device.
This will tell you how much electricity usage everything in your house uses.
Simply plug the item into this device and then plug it into an outlet.
When we used one, we were surprised by how much electric some things used.
And there were some things we assumed used a lot of electricity that ended up not using that much at all.
By identifying energy sucking items, we could make it a point to use them less often to save money.
39. Get a Home Energy Monitor
We didn’t do this, but have a friend who did.
They cost around $300 and install directly into your electrical box.
The downside is because of this, you need an electrician to install it.
40. Shop for better electricity rates
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41. Cut Out Phantom Energy
Your TV, computer, Internet router, and kitchen appliances are making your electric bill higher. This is because they are continually working even while off. Use power strips and turn them off when electronics are not in use.
42. Keep Refrigerator Coils Clean
Dirty coils make your fridge work harder. Check them every three months and keep them clean to save electricity and lengthen the life of your refrigerator.
43. Get Annual HVAC Maintenance
To ensure your HVAC is operating efficiently, get annual maintenance done on it. The inspection can identify any wear and tear that could be causing your HVAC system to be working harder than needed.
44. Clean HVAC Filters
Cleaning your HVAC filter also promotes efficiency. Cleaning or changing your HVAC filter every 30 days can help you cut electricity costs. The added bonus is that your home will also have cleaner air flowing through it. This is a definite bonus during allergy season!
45. Insulate Electrical Outlets
Install electrical outlet sealers behind outlets and switches to stop hot and cold air leaks. Want to go the extra mile? Place child-safety plugs into outlets after insulation is installed.
46. Install Storm Doors
Storm doors can save you a little bit on your electric bill. Installing them also makes you eligible for a $500 tax credit. The average storm door costs around $200, but if you only need two or three of them, the tax credit alone makes it worth it.
47. Run appliances at night
One of the easiest ways to save money on electricity is to run your appliances at night. Because everyone's awake and using their stuff during daytime hours, utility companies tend to charge more during these peak times. Rates are usually significantly lower during off-peak hours. Check with your utility company to find out your local peak and off-peak rates.
48. Take advantage of free renewable energy
There are so many innovative ways to incorporate eco-friendly solar panels into your household to cut your electricity use. At first, switching to renewable energy might seem like a significant investment. But really, start with smaller steps like power banks with solar batteries and slowly yet steady move towards rooftop solar panels. These short-term expenses are making a long-term difference in our electricity consumption.
49. Air ducts can be electricity suck
The air ducts in your home could be costing you big bucks. Ducts with holes, clogs and leaks can lose around 20% of the HVAC's efficiency. Have your ducts looked at by a professional if you have any of these problems.
50. Baby your dryer
The California Energy Commission says that dryers use approximately 6% of a home's total electricity usage. You can help your dryer work more efficiently by keeping it clean, and emptying the lint trap after each load is one of the most important things you can do to stop a dryer from working harder than necessary.
